Dragon rider

Wearing a spacesuit and a big smile, ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt trains inside a SpaceX Dragon vehicle in California, USA. Marcus is preparing for his Axiom 3 Mission (Ax-3) to the International Space Station, scheduled to launch no earlier than 10 January 2024, European time.

“The inside of the spacecraft has the smell of a new car,” Marcus says. The Swedish astronaut was used to the warm smell inside the cockpit of fighter jets, where he has flown as a military fighter and test pilot over the last two decades.

That changed in November 2022, when he was announced as one of the 17 new astronaut candidates chosen from over 22 500 applicants from across ESA Member States. He defines himself as an action-oriented thinker able to adapt quickly to different missions.

Marcus started intensive training for his spaceflight in June 2023. As a project astronaut, his job at ESA is linked to this specific flight opportunity on a fixed-term contract.

The Swedish astronaut is the first of a new generation of European astronauts to fly on a commercial human spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space. Marcus’s mission, supported by ESA and the Swedish National Space Agency, is called Muninn.

Marcus will spend up to 14 days in orbit conducting over 20 science and technology experiments. He will fly on the Dragon as a mission specialist, together with Ax-3 commander Michael López-Alegría, pilot Walter Villadei from Italy and mission specialist Alper Gezeravcı from Türkiye.

Follow Marcus’s journey on the Muninn website, check our launch kit and connect with Marcus on his Instagram and X accounts.